As Time Runs Out For Oak Cliff Christian Church, Some Lookers But No Takers

Like we said last month, the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League has till August 15 to find a buyer for the 94-year-old Oak Cliff Christian Church on 10th Street. If it can’t, then the Dallas Independent School District will introduce the building to the wrecking ball shortly after that to make way for, more than likely, new athletic fields planned as part of the Adamson High School expansion.

Truth is, no one following this story since we first started writing about it in mid-December thought much of the DISD’s settlement agreement with the OOCCL. Rather than open its books to the league, the district simply agreed to give the conservationists a little more time knowing it’d be next to impossible to find a buyer who could cough up the $1.2 million asking price in six months’ time. Even the most hopeful preservationists say privately that the church’s demise appears inevitable.

And, maybe, deep down Michael Amonett knows this. Today, the president of the OOCCL tells Unfair Park that, yes, a few interested parties have toured the church — “a nonprofit, a developer.” But, he acknowledges, “It’s just an almost impossible task to do a fund-raising campaign between now and August. The time line we’re under makes it a challenge, but we’re gonna do our absolute best.”

Which is why, today, he sent out this heavily illustrated press release announcing a gratis open-to-the-public open house on April 10 from noon to 4 p.m., during which there will be tours, a exhibit featuring “photos of the historic building in its prime and renderings of its proposed restoration” and, naturally, beverages. “All we can do is get the word out and do our best,” he says. Then, he adds with a laugh, “It just needs a really nice philanthropist to walk up and write a check.”